CHAMPIONS AGAIN! Escanaba Softball Wins Title

EAST LANSING---The Escanaba High School softball team won a second straight state championship on Saturday, outlasting the Stevensville-Lakeshore Lancers, 7-3, at Michigan State University's Secchia Stadium.

Gabi Salo struck out eleven batters, including the final out on a change-up, and she was named the Michigan Softball Player of the Year by the Champs! Sports Network.

That's the same outfit that named Escanaba's Levi Wunder as the hockey player of the year several years ago. In that case, the award was presented in a surprise ceremony at Escanaba High School.

This one was also a surprise, but it came here at MSU.

Salo got plenty of help from her defense along the way, especially in the sixth inning when the Lancers got five straight base hits off of Salo.

But on one of those hits, right fielder Lexi Chaillier fired a bullet to the plate and the runner was tagged out by Dakota Cloutier.

Stevensville scored in the top of the first inning, but the Eskymos responded with a Salo sacrafice fly in the bottom of the inning, and took the lead on a bases-loaded groundout by Lexi Chaillier.

It stayed 2-1 into the fourth inning, when Maddie Block walked, and Heather Bergstrom and Carsyn Segorski both got base hits to load the bases. With two out, Nicole Kamin hit a fly ball to right field that would have ended the inning, but it was dropped.

The huge error scored three runs, making it 5-1 for the Eskymos.

The Lancers (33-11) weren't done. They ripped Salo for five straight hits, with Anna Chellman singling in a pair of runs. But that came after Chaillier and Cloutier combined on the defensive play of the weekend at the plate, getting an important second out.

Then in the bottom of the sixth, Bersgtrom and Segorski both got base hits (again). They pulled off a double steal, moving runners to second and third. A passed ball off the tip of the catcher's glove brought home Segorski, and Chaillier, noticing a bobble, came around as well. she scored easily, making it a 7-3 game.

The bottom of the seventh was vintage Salo, as she struck out two batters, including one on a wicked change-up. The future University of Wisconsin pitcher jumped high into the air as the final strike was called, clinching a second straight state championship.

Bergstrom and Segorski both had two hits, as the Eskymos had eight as a team.

Escanaba finishes its season 34-3 and will return a stacked line-up next season, mius seniors Chaillier, Bergstrom, and Georgia Lehto, all of whom contributed to this win.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos and video clips from the game. Also, listen to pre-game and post-game interviews.Also hear radio replays of Cloutier's play at the plate, two runs scoring on a passed ball, and the game's final out.